Faculty80 437 KUST20201 L22 P1 Identity and Impression Management

“Organization Studies”
MS 437
Lecture 22
“Identity and impression management ”
By: Dr. Humera Manzoor

Assistant Professor, Institute of
Business Studies, KUST
Outline
• Self presentation: an introduction

• Difference between authentic, ideal and tactical self
• The nature of self presentation
• Why do people engage in self presentation?
• When and How Do People Manage Impressions
Course: Organization Studies MS-437 -- Instructor: Dr. Humera Manzoor, Assistant. Prof. Institute of Business Studies , KUST -- Email: humera@kust.edu.pk
Self-presentation
• Self presentation - The processes individuals use to control

the impressions of others in social interaction.
• Self concept is both a private and a social phenomenon
• self-presentation is a pervasive feature of social life
Self-presentation
• Authentic - Goal is to create an image consistent with the
way we view ourselves.
• Ideal - Goal is to establish an image consistent with what we
wish we were.
• Tactical self-presentation - Goal is to establish a public image
consistent with what others want or expect us to be.
Self-presentation
• In tactical self-presentation, a person cares only about the

impact of the image they present to others, not about whether
that image is consistent with their real or ideal self.
• People who engage in tactical self-presentation usually have
an ulterior motive.
• They often want others to view them positively to get
rewards.
Self presentation
• Goffman (1989) draws a parallel between a theater stages and

the regions we use to manage appearances.
• Front regions are settings in which people carryout
interaction performances and exert efforts to maintain
appearances.
• Back regions are inaccessible to outsiders in which people
violate the appearances they present in front regions.
The Nature of Self-Presentation
Facilitate Social Interaction
• The most basic function of self-presentation is to define the

nature of a social situation
• Most social interactions are very role governed
• social life is highly structured – both formal and informal
• people support, rather than undermine, one another’s public

identities – face work
• people may misrepresent themselves or otherwise refrain
from saying what they really think or feel
Gain Material and Social Rewards

• create impressions of themselves to gain material and social
rewards (or avoid material and social punishments).
• Employees generally have a material interest in being
perceived as bright, committed, and promising
• Social rewards also depend on our ability to convince others
that we possess particular qualities
• this type of strategic self-presentation represents a form of

social influence in which one person (the self-presenter)
attempts to gain power over another (the audience).
• Strategic self-presentation does not necessarily mean that we

are trying to deceive others (though sometimes we are).
• It can also involve genuine attempts to bring our (self-

perceived) positive qualities to the attention of others.
Self-Construction
• to construct a particular identity for ourselves
• This type of self-presentational behavior serves a more
private, personal function.
• Convincing others that we possess some quality or attribute
is a means of convincing ourselves.
• Sometimes, self-construction is initiated in order to create an
identity
• Other times, self-construction is undertaken to confirm an

already established self-view.
• Self-enhancement needs also underlie self-construction
• people seek to create impressions in the minds of others

because it makes them feel good about themselves to do so.
• self-construction can serve a motivational function
When and How Do People Manage
Impressions
• our self-presentations can be automatic or habitual
• acutely aware of the impressions we are creating, and we

actively strive to take control of these impressions
Impressions
Situational Variables That Influence Impression Motivation
• The motivation to engage in self-presentation also tends to
increase when we are the focus of other people’s attention
• perhaps, being ignored or shunned by others can also
increase self-presentational concerns
• Familiarity with an audience is another factor that influences
the nature of self-presentational behavior
Impressions
Social Acuity
• refers to our ability to know what we would need to do in
order to successfully create a desired impression
• involves adopting the perspective of other people and
inferring what particular behaviors will give rise to a
particular impression in their minds.
• in order to communicate effectively, people must be able to
anticipate how their own symbolic gestures will be
interpreted by others (Mead 1934)
Impressions
Behavioral Skills
• People need to be capable of performing the behaviors they
believe will create a desired impression.
• Numerous tactics are used to create a desired impression.
• Verbal claims – selectively disclose, accidentally mention, or
overtly boast as a means of creating a particular impression
• use props to establish our characters – hair, physique, figure,
and clothing
Impressions
• movements signal to others what we are like.
• People draw inferences about what we are like from
observing our mannerisms and gestures and the way we stand
and walk
Suggested reading
Schwartz, S. J., Luyckx, K., & Vignoles, V. L. (Eds.).

(2011). Handbook of identity theory and research. Springer
Science + Business Media.

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“Organization Studies”

By: Dr. Humera Manzoor

• Self presentation: an introduction

• Self presentation - The processes individuals use to control

• Self concept is both a private and a social phenomenon

• self-presentation is a pervasive feature of social life

• In tactical self-presentation, a person cares only about the

• Goffman (1989) draws a parallel between a theater stages and

Facilitate Social Interaction

• The most basic function of self-presentation is to define the

• people support, rather than undermine, one another’s public

Gain Material and Social Rewards

• this type of strategic self-presentation represents a form of

• Strategic self-presentation does not necessarily mean that we

• It can also involve genuine attempts to bring our (self-

• Other times, self-construction is undertaken to confirm an

• Self-enhancement needs also underlie self-construction

• people seek to create impressions in the minds of others

• self-construction can serve a motivational function

• our self-presentations can be automatic or habitual

• acutely aware of the impressions we are creating, and we

Schwartz, S. J., Luyckx, K., & Vignoles, V. L. (Eds.).

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